Exit Traditional Capitalism, Enter ‘Capitalism Without Capital’
Great franchises in modern India are increasingly defined not by their physical capex & infra investments; rather they are determined by how much and how well they invest in intangible assets and reap non-linear benefits thereof. In the decade ending 2012, approximately 50% of the ten biggest wealth creators in the Indian stock market belonged […]
When ‘Loss Aversion’ Meets ‘Time Horizons’ in Equity Investing
Investors’ decision making is often underpinned by a key psychological trait – loss aversion. As explained by Noble laureate Daniel Kahneman, the result of ‘loss aversion’ is that our pain from losses is more than twice the joy from equal amounts of gain. Juxtaposing this idea to the CCP investing approach discussed in our book […]
The price of ‘sugar free’: are sweeteners as harmless as we thought?
Sugar is increasingly considered to be the most harmful and in some ways addictive of substances we consumer in our daily diet, the most dangerous effects being weight gain and blood sugar levels in diabetics. Increasing awareness among consumers as well as government policy around penal taxation on sugary products have resulted in the sugar […]
Eoin Morgan: ‘In the shorter format, every batter has the ability to play aggressively’
The entire country of England has fewer cricketers than the city of Mumbai. And yet England utterly dominates elite level cricket. The English are the reigning World Champions in One Day cricket and T20 cricket. And arguably they are the best test cricket team in the world at present (as India led by Jasprit Bumrah […]
Mewat women have found freedom online. Men can stare, taunt, misuse pics, they won’t sign out
Last year we wrote about the massive changes taking place in the lives of Indian women as they steadily pull ahead of their male counterparts at every level of the education ladder and also emerge as highly effective entrepreneurs in the digital era – see https://marcellus.in/blogs/educated-employed-and-empowered-the-rise-of-indian-women/. One of the joys of living in India is that […]
Bruce Greenwald on the Future of Value-Oriented Investing
This is a November 2020 interview but pertinent nonetheless. Not just because Professor Bruce Greenwald’s ideas are timeless but this happened when value investing in the conventional sense was considered to be dead and has since staged a comeback. Greenwald is the Founding Director of the Heilbrunn Center for Graham and Dodd Investing at Columbia […]
Spread of railways, WWII demands—How USHA sewing machine came to dominate Indian markets
Whilst investors like us can’t stop talking about the “formalisation” and the “networking” of the Indian economy – see for example https://marcellus.in/blogs/indias-moment-after-a-decade-of-structural-reforms/ – those who have studied India’s business history often give us case studies of 80 year old Indian companies who used technology and modern marketing techniques to create dominant pan-India franchises in the space of […]
Little Champs: Spotlighting Vijaya Diagnostic
This month we place the spotlight on Vijaya Diagnostic Centre Limited (Vijaya), a leading diagnostic player in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and one of the few organised players to offer an integrated offering of pathology (2/3rd revenue contribution) and radiology (1/3rd share of revenues). Vijaya has consistently outperformed its integrated diagnostic peers (FY18-22 average EBITDA margin nearly […]
The glory of grandparents
Last week, India became the world’s most populous country as the Chinese census showed that the Chinese population is now on the decline joining its neighbour Japan and much of the developed world. This change in demographics thanks to lower fertility rates and lower mortality rates has also left the world with an ageing population. […]
Why Value Investing Requires Thoughtful Arrogance
Investing is simple but not easy is a quote attributed to the great Warren Buffet. But among the many things that make it difficult is the need to find that careful balance between humility and conviction. This is because whilst without the former we won’t learn and without the latter we won’t be able to […]
Rentokil takes on the world’s rat problem with facial recognition
Rodent infestation is a problem that almost every large city in the world has to deal with. Conventionally, this problem has been addressed by mousetraps and rat poison. Now, Rentokil says that it has found a more effective way to deal with the issue by using facial recognition: “Rentokil said its surveillance service, which live […]
Goodhart’s Law Isn’t as Useful as You Might Think
‘Focus on the process, not the outcome’ is something we hear often from successful people across disciplines ranging from business to sport. This is a brilliant piece to appreciate this principle better, especially for those of us who have to make decisions to solve for problems where it is not obvious what input variables (often […]
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